Container and spout



Oct. 31, 1939. c. MC UINN 2,177,782

CONTAINER AND SPOUT Filed Jan. 21, 1959 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 areaccomplished by the same structure.

o iTEo stares eATsNT crit cs CONTAINER AND sroor Carl McQuinn, Decatur,Ill., assigncr to Williams 1 Sealing Corporation, Decatur, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application January 21,

12 Claims.

This invention relates to metallic containers of the type having pouringspouts and seals associated therewith.

The invention provides new combinations of structural features in thecontainer and the spout to facilitate and simplify the assembly of theparts during man'ufactureand to facilitate the operations of filling andsealing the container.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide novel structuraldetails, built into the container and the spout, to make certain thatthe spout is properly positioned on the container before it is solderedin place, so that the pouring lip isin a desired, predetermined relationto an edge or corner of the top end of the container.

It is a further object of theinvention to provide, in a pouring spout,an abutment shoulder or shoulders, adapted to limit the insertion of arupturable inner seal or plug for the spout, so that it becomesimpossible for the inner seal or plug to be forced through the spout,all the way into the container.

One of the principal advantages of the invention is that both of theIoregoing main objects Thus, ,the novel structural features of thepouring spout and container perform a dual function, in that theyprovide means for positioning the spout on the container and means forlimiting the insertion of the inner seal or plug.

In the accompanying drawing, a specific embodiment of the invention isdisclosed, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a container and spout.Figure 2 is a vertical, sectional view, taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical, sectional view, taken on a plane at right anglesto that of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged bottom view of the spout, removed from thecontainer, and

Figure 5 is a plan view of the container, prior to the application ofthe spout thereto. A conventional can is shown in the drawing,comprising .a side wall ['0 and an upper end member ll seamed at E2 tothe side wall by a con- .ventional double lock seam. The. end member llis provided with an'aperture l3 adjacent one side, end or cornerthereof. illustrated, the aperture I3 is adjacent one narrow side. ofthe oblong can top, but it will be understood that the aperture may beformed adjacent any edgeportion of the can over which the contents areto be poured. The aperture l3 (Fig. 5) is generally circular in planwith the exceptionthat ithas two straight sides l4, I5 whicharacords. ofthe! circle. Theaperture is oi'the spout is generally similar to thespout dis- In the embodiment 1939, Serial No. 252,192

defined by an upstanding marginal flange IS. The material of the top maybe downwardly grooved as at H, entirely around the upstanding flange,for purposes hereinafter described. It is important that the groove I!shall correspond in 5 contour with the aperture and the upstandingflange. The straight portions l4, l5 are preferably parallel with theplane of pouring, i. a, they are directed toward the adjacent edge ofthe container, although, as pointed out below, they maybe positioned inany other predetermined relation with respect thereto.

The spout 20 comprises a cylindrical neck 2|, having an outwardlyprojecting, circumferential rib 22 formed therein, a laterallyprojecting pouring lip 23, and a downturned marginal flange 24 which, atthe rear end, may be curled inwardly and upwardly, as at 25, for thepurposes described in my prior Patent No. 2,126,651. The upper endclosed in my copending application Serial No. 0

The lower end of the cylindrical neck is provided with inwardly struck,flat side portions 26, 2?, which, at their upper ends, merge throughoutwardly inclined shoulders 28, 29, into the cylindrical neck 2| attheir outer ends. The flat portions 26, 27 are parallel with a verticalplane passing through the center of the pouring lip 23, in the preferredembodiment, although they may be in any other desired predeterminedrelation with respect thereto.

The lower end 30 of the neck closely embraces the upstanding flange 16on the container and is disposed in the groove H. The flat portions 26,21 register or mate with the straight portions l4, it of the upstandingflange l6. Thus, the spout it, after being positioned on the can top,cannot accidentally be rotated with respect thereto and the pouring lip23 will always be disposed in the desired relation with respect to theadjacent edge of the container. This feature is of major importance inthe assembly of the cams and spouts, for .the following reasons:

In the manufacture of cans of the present type, the can bodies with theupper ends I I seamed thereon are moved in a line on a conveyor, past aposition where an operator places the spouts upon the end members,around the apertures. The cans are carried along and another operatorplaces a small section of wire solder adjacent the line of junctionbetween the neck of the spout and the cover. The containers are thenmoved past a plurality. of gas flames and the. solder is melted. Itspreads or runs rapidly all) around in the groove I! by capillaryattraction and the spout is thereby secured in place. The solder isrepresented in Figures 2 and 3 at 35. Obviously, if the operator doesnot position the spouts in exactly the right relation with respect tothe edge of the can, an unsightly, slip-shod job results. Moreover,unless he has some specific guiding means, it is a slow and difi'lcultjob to place the spout in exactly the correct angular position. By meansof the mating fiat sides provided on the container and on the neck ofthe spout, this assembling operation is greatly facilitated.

Further, when the cans are moving along on the conveyor, they arenecessarily subjected to a considerable degree of vibration. Withconventional structures, it is likely that the spouts will be displacedslightly, even if they are initially positioned in proper manner on thecontainers. By means of the present construction, such accidentaldisplacement is prevented.

The spout of the present invention is adapted to be sealed by an innerseal of the rupturable, friction type or by means of any other plug typeclosure. The seal comprises a drawn cup 36 of thin, stiil metal such asaluminum. The bottom 37 is provided with a weakened score line 38 whichextends substantially throughout a circle, leaving only a short, arcuateconnecting portion 39 unscored. The seal is forced into the throat ofthe spout under great pressure, so that the side walls as tightly engagethe inner face of the cylindrical neck to prevent leakage of thereceptacle contents.

When it is desired to obtain access to the container, the centralportion 35 is punched down, rupturing the seal along the score line 38.It should be noted that the diameter of the central disc 45 is less thanthe distance between the flat sides 26, ill of the neck of the spout, sothat the downward bending movement of the disc is not interfered with.

The shoulders 28, 29 cooperate with the seal 36, by limiting theinsertion of the same in the neck of the spout. They serve as abutmentmeans to prevent the inadvertent forcing of the drawn cup or other plugtype closure all the Way into the container. This feature is ofconsiderable advantage, particularly where the seals or plugs areapplied by hand instead of by automatic machinery. As stated above,considerable pressure is required to force the seal into proper, sealingrelation to the spout. If this force is applied by hand, it isdifficult, if not impossible, to push the seal exactly the rightdistance into the neck, and it often happens that the seal is forced intoo far. When that occurs, the can must be discarded because it isimpossible to remove the seal from the interior of the can, once it hasbeen forced thereinto.

Even when automatic machinery is employed for applying the seals, it isdesirable to have this safeguard, to prevent the seal beinginadvertently forced into the interior of the container. With suchmachines gripping jaws embrace the neck and underlie or otherwise engagethe outwardly projecting rib 22, to prevent the capping pressure beingapplied to the end member it. The seal applying plungers are usuallyspring-operated to force the seals to predetermined position, but theshoulders 28, 29 function to restrain excessive inward forcing of theseals.

As stated above, the flat portions 26, 21 may be disposed in any desiredrelation to the pouring lip 23, so long as the straight sides on thecontainer l4, l5 are disposed in corresponding relation to the side orcorner of the container which is to be the front side or corner duringthe pouring operation. For instance, the flat sides of the neck and thestraight sides of the aperture might be displaced 90 from the positionshown in the drawings. Also, the pouring lip in many cases, instead ofbeing directed toward a side of the top of the container, is pointedtoward a corner thereof.

If desired, a closure in addition to the inner seal 36, may be used withthe present spout. Preferably, a closure of the type shown in my patentreferred to above is employed.

It must be understood that the invention is not limited to the detailsof construction disclosed herein, except as required by the accompanyingclaims. The invention includes all modifications coming within the scopeof the claims and their equivalents.

I claim:

1. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout adapted to receive aninner sealing plug, said spout comprising a neck including a cylindricalportion and a lower end portion having diametrically opposed flat sides,said fiat sides merging at their upper ends with the cylindrical portionthrough shoulders projecting into the neck opening and decreasing itscross-sectional area at the lower end thereof.

2. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout adapted to receive aninner sealing plug, said spout comprising a neck including a cylindricalportion and a lower end portion having diametrically opposed flat sides,said fiat sides merging at their upper ends with the cylindrical portionthrough shoulders projecting into the neck opening and decreasing itscross-sectional area at the lower end thereof, said shoulders serving asabutment means to limit the inserting movement of the inner sealing plugin the neck.

3. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout and an inner sealinserted in the spout, said spout comprising a laterally projectingpouring lip and a neck including a substantially cylindrical wallterminating at its lower end in a flat side wall portion, said fiat sidewall merging at its upper end with the cylindrical wall through ashouldered portion, said shouldered portion being positioned to limitthe degree of insertion of the seal in the neck.

4. A sheet metal container having a pouring sprout and an inner sealinserted in the sprout, said spout comprising a laterally projectingpouring lip and a neck having a cylindrical wall portion and a plain,flat wall portion at its lower end, the latter portion joining thecylindrical wall portion through an outwardly directed shoulderedportion, said flat wall portion serving as means to position the spoutaccurately on the upper end of the container, and said shoulderedportion serving as means to limit the insertion of the inner seal in theneck.

5. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout and an inner sealinserted in the spout, said spout having a laterally projecting pouringlip and a cylindrical neck merging at its lower end into two flat sidewall portions disposed on parallel planes, said fiat sides merging withthe cylindrical portion through outwardly disposed shoulders serving asmeans to limit the insertion of the inner seal in the neck.

6. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout in its upper end andan inner seal inserted in the spout, the upper end of the containerhaving a spout opening defined by a generally circular margin, buthaving diametrically opposed parallel straight sides which are cords ofthe circle, said spout comprising a circular cylindrical neckterminating at itslower end in diametrically opposed, parallel, fiatsides registering with the straight sides of the aperture, said flatsides merging with the cylindrical surface 01 the neck throughshouldered portions positioned to limit the insertion of the inner sealin the neck.

7. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout in its upper end andan inner seal inserted in the spout, the upper end of the containerhaving a spout opening defined by an upstanding, marginal spout-endpositioning wall, the aperture and said wall being generally circular inplan, but having diametrically opposed, parallel straight sides whichare cords of the circle, said spout comprising a circular cylindricalneck terminating at its lower end in diametrically opposed, parallel,flat sides mating with the straight sides of said wall, said flat sidesmerging with the cylindrical surface of the neck through shoulderedportions positioned to limit the insertion of the inner seal in theneck.

8. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout in its upper end andan inner seal inserted in the spout, the upper end of the containerhaving a spout opening defined by a marginal spout end positioninggroove, the aperture and said groove being generally circular in plan,but having diametrically opposed parallel straight sides which are cordsof the circle, said spout comprising a circular cylindrical neckterminating at its lower end in diametrically opposed, parallel flatsides mating with the straight sides of said groove, said flat sidesmerging with the cylindrical surface of the neck through shoulderedportions positioned to limit the insertion of the inner seal in theneck.

9. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout in its upper end andan inner seal inserted in the spout, the upper end of the containerhaving a spout opening defined by a marginal spoutend receiving grooveand by an upstanding flange, the aperture and said groove and flangebeing generally circular in plan, but having diametrically opposed,parallel straight sides which are cords of the "circle, said spoutcomprising a circular cylindrical neck terminating at its lower end indiametrically opposed, parallel, flat sides mating with the straightsides of said groove and flange, said flat sides merging with thecylindrical surface of the neck through shouldered portions positionedto limit the insertion of the inner seal in the neck.

if). A sheet metal container having a pouring spout in its upper end andan inner seal in the spout, said spout comprising a laterally projectingpouring lip and a cylindrical neck having at its lower end,diametrically opposed fiat sides disposed in vertical planes parallel toa vertical plane bisecting the pouring lip, said container having anaperture in said end, the margin of said aperture including straightportions with which said flat sides are adapted to register, to locatethe pouring lip in predetermined angular relation with respect to theend of the container.

11. A pouring spout adapted to be secured to a container and to receivean inner seal, said spout comprising a laterally projecting pouring lipand a neck adapted to be secured to the end of the container, said neckhaving an outwardly projecting, circumferential rib adapted forcooperation with the jaws of a filling and closing machine, said neck atits lower end having portions struck inwardly to provide abutment meansto limit the degree of insertion of the inner seal and to make the lowerend of the neck non-circular, to facilitate positioning the same inpredetermined relation to the upper end of the container duringmanufacture thereof.

12. A sheet metal container having a pouring spout in its upper end anda rupturable inner seal inserted in the spout, said spout comprising acylindrical neck terminating at its lower end in spaced, inwardlypressed flat sides merging with the cylindrical wall through oppositelydisposed shoulders positioned to serve as abutments to limit theinsertion of the seal in the spout, said seal having a substantiallycircular score line defining a rupturable disc, the diameter of saiddisc being less than the space between said fiat sides, whereby therupturable disc may be punched downwardly without hindrance by saidshoulders and said flat sides.

' CARL McQUINN.

